Sunday Driving on Highway 63

Among the great nicknames in NFL history — Crazylegs, The Mad Bomber, Diesel, to name a few — none makes better use of a player’s jersey number than Highway 63. That’s the moniker by which Hall of Fame guard Gene Upshaw was known, an homage to the numerals on his back that would bring the teammates who followed them wherever those runners wanted to go.

Today being 6/3 — and here at 1 NFL Plaza, the type of lovely late spring afternoon made for a Sunday drive — we thought it fitting to follow Highway 63 back into the our vault. Here’s a look back at Gene Upshaw, who as a pulling guard was perhaps the greatest escort that any running back has ever had.